You keep your thoughts to yourself. If something upsets you, you cry. Or should I say, you have learned that crying gets you what you want. For example if you and Kathleen are fighting over something, you will cry and Kathleen will get told off. Or if you don't want to walk you cry and get picked up. But when you get told off you react quite differently. You go very quiet, you curl yourself up into a ball, and you cry silent tears. Thus it is easy to tell when you are angry or frustrated, but not so easy to tell when you are truly upset or sad.
You are both a social and non social person. Non social because you get very shy in group situations. But social in that you compulsively cannot keep your hands away from animals and other small children. Since our dog had puppies two weeks ago you are always asking if you can check on the puppies and if you had your way you would never leave their side. Prior to this you have always enjoyed chasing our cats around, hoping for a cuddle. You love babies if you see them and can be very kind and gentle with them.You are a hands on learner, you like to try and do things for yourself. While this is a good quality, it can also be frustrating for Mummy, for example when you pour and then spill the milk. You use your hands to explore your world a lot, which can also be frustrating for Mummy when she finds you playing with things that you shouldn’t be. You have always experimented with whatever you find, and as a baby you ate quite a number of things that you shouldn't have! Interestingly, you learned to count with your fingers before you learned to say the numbers in order or read them (I'd say hold up four fingers and you would hold up the right number). I think this is an example of being a hands on learner.
Eating is one thing you do and don't like doing. You hate having to sit a table to eat. You hate to sit still. You would rather walk around eating or not eat at all. Yet you also love to sneak into the kitchen and get crackers or other treats to eat. You would much rather eat the things you find under the dining room table than eat at the table. You like sandwiches but you won’t eat the crusts. You still have a thing about eating playdough and sand, despite the fact I thought you would have grown out of this by now. I think you do it to wind me up sometimes.Your Favourite Things
Painting always used to be your favourite thing at preschool, although you don't show as much interest in it any more. You enjoy painting – on paper, on wood, on your hands, your face, your clothes, etc. You love to dip your hands in the paint and to wash it off in the sink. As much as you love getting paint on your hands, you also love washing it off. During the last few months as the weather has gotten warmer, whenever you have access to a hose you can be spotted there, hose in hand, hosing the ground, toys, steps, filling buckets. You also love the sinks too and have been banned from the bathroom at home because of the times you’ve almost flooded the place or have used up all the soap.
Your favourite thing at the playground is the swing. Since we have put up our swing at home it is one of your favourite things to do at home (second to playing with the puppies which is your number one favourite thing of all time). You love to swing high and I'm sure it won't be long before you learn to swing by yourself.
But, excluding puppies, your favourite thing to do at home is, and always has been, to play with dolls. You are happy to play with the toys by yourself or with me or sometimes Kathleen. Frequent play themes include the toys doing everyday activities like eating and sleeping, going away somewhere (usually you suggest America because your grandparents live there), or a toy will need rescuing. When you play with dolls you invariably take their clothes off and don't like it if anyone puts the clothes back on.Your favourite colour has always been blue although this seems to be changing lately.
Your favourite TV show is Strawberry Shortcake.
Your favourite princess is Ariel, the little mermaid.
Victoria, it has been a pleasure to watch you grow over the last three years. You have always been happy to play by yourself, which has been very helpful when your older sister has been demanding attention. But with Kathleen heading off to school this year, you will find you can demand more of Mummy's time for yourself. I can already see you starting to assert yourself. "You could play with me" I often get told by you. And I hope we will have lots of time to play together in the coming year.
Love Mummy
